Attentions
by GemKnight
Summary: Seto and Serenity are falling in love, how long can they keep it a secret, and how will Joey react when he finds out.  Rating will go up as Story advances.
1. 01 Closet Affections

AN:

Pairings: SetoXSerenity, DukeXTea, JoeyXMai, and if mutt-boy makes too much of an ass of himself, possibly MaiXYugi…

Mokuba was surprised to see Seto getting ready for the Halloween Party. He knew Seto was obliged to make an appearance, but Seto had never bothered to dress up for one before. Mokuba looked at the pieces to Seto's costume while Seto was in the shower- he looked at the obscenely long sword first, and could barely even lift the thing to get a proper gauge of its length. He looked the the large dirty looking wing and wondered if it was supposed to look like that- and where the other one was?

Mokuba quickly rushed off when he heard the water stop running. Besides, he still needed to get his costume together….

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Mai complained for the ninth time as they finally arrived. Joey came up beside her and pulled his hood over him, completing the Flame Swordsman look, he knocked on the metal breastplate Mai was wearing, "What, it looks sexy, and you've got the figure to pull it off, besides, there's a couples contest, and with all the Duelists, a monster pair is sure to win."

"I'll hit you with these wings if you knock on my breastplate one more time Joey."

"Speaking of your wings Mai, how did you get yours to stay in place, mine keep drooping," Tea lifted her shoulders, which made a half-hearted flap of her angel wings. "And Yugi, put that book away!"

"But Tea, its part of my costume," he adjusted his forehead protector over his left eye, the last touch to his costume. Oh look, there's Duke!" Yugi said to distract her, which worked-

"Oh hey- DUKE!" Tea rushed over and glomped on, their wings colliding and pressing together, his black leathering demon wings against her white feathery angelic ones. "Oh damn it, not yours too…"

"What," Duke said sort of oblivious-like.

"Your wings, they stay upright."

"Ah," he knocked against the plastic that made the whole of his wings, "no frame, it's just one solid piece. But yours look cute, they sort of flap when you move your shoulders right." He put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer-

"Oh get a room you two," Joey quipped- "Hey, Serenity, where you headed?"

"Ah, I was just going to wonder around for a bit- see who else is here," She pulled the microphone from her belt and walked off in search for a rather specific face…

"Oh wow- It's Mokuba, and he's dressed like his brother, how adorable," Tea of course…

"Riiight, so cute, the little Kaiba brat's takin' more like his punk brother every day," Joey griped.

"Play nice Joey, after all, Seto hasn't called you a dog in more than a month, things are looking up, eh," Mai joked.

"Hey guys, have any of you seen Seto?" Mokuba came up to all of them, his jacket an exact copy of the one Seto wore back in Battle City, he even had the same style Duel Disk on his arm.

"No, I haven't seen him, any of you- YUGI- I told you to put that book away!"

Yugi backed away in half-terror, "But Tea, like I said, its part of my costume- besides, I haven't finished reading it yet." Yugi held the book up at his shoulders and turned such that it was as far from Tea as it could be with him being so much shorter still.

Tea threw her arms up in disgust, "I swear, where did you get that thing anway?"

"I ah- borrowed it from Grandpa- with his permission I swear!"

Duke smirked and came up behind Tea, pinning her arms under her wings, "Run Yugi, run!"

Yuigi took the hint and quickly slipped into the crowd. When Duke let go of Tea she turned furiously, Duke had to catch her wing to stop it from hitting him, "Duke!"

Duke cut her off with a kiss. After a moment she eased up and stepped a little closer. Mokuba looked away a little embarrassed, and Joey turned on his heel to face way in a huff. Mai had already managed to slip off in the meanwhile, before Joey could get any bright idea about kissing her in public again… The boy could be sweet when he was innocent, but she still had a reputation to think of.

"Tristan! Hey man, I was almost thinkin' you weren't gonna make it," Joey spotted Tristan as he came in- "What on earth is that- is that supposed to be a TV on your head?"

"Canti man, haven't you ever seen FLCL, it's awesome, especially the girls in it," he smirked and slipped into whispering distance, "Even hotter than Mai."

"No way," Joey blew off, not believing. Thankfully for him, since Mai happened to have very good hearing, and had been watching from a distance. Mai smiled "Might be hope for the runt yet."

Mai came up to the two of them, deciding to reward Joey for his unintentional loyalty, "Hey Joey, wanna dance?"

"Do I? You bet!"

"Maybe you could find one of those chicks, I saw a pink haired girl in a nurse outfit with a Guitar on the other side of the room," Mai teased Tristan.

"You heard?"

Mai tugged lightly at her ears, "These do work ya' know. Next time you pull in close to whisper, it helps when you actually lower your voice."

Joey snickered as he rushed over to Mai's side. "Now Joey, please don't try to lead, you do remember last time's fiasco don't you?"

"Ah, but I had Yug' teach me a few steps, I swear I'm better this time."

"I'll lead, if you show progress, maybe I'll let you have a try," she said doubtfully. "Good luck finding Seto, I mean, it's his party, he's gotta be somewhere?"

"Thanks Mai," Mokuba nodded cheerfully as he went off to resume his search…

…

"You're here."

"I said I would be."

"And in Costume."

"For you."

"I love you."

"I know," Kaiba pulled Serenity closer, a function on his wrist let him close his wing around them as he brought his lips to hers.

"Not here, Joey might see."

Seto frowned, there it was again, the one thing she could have said to ruin the moment, '_Joey_.' "I'm sure Joey doesn't expect me to be in costume here."

She traced her one gloved hand along his cheek, down his chin, then up to his lips. "Let's go somewhere else…"

AN:

For those who didn't figure it out, the gangs costumes are as follows.  
Seto- Sephiroth (FF7)  
Serenty- Yuna (FFX)  
Mokuba- Seto  
Yugi- Kakashi (Naruto)  
Joey- Flame Swordsman  
Tristan- Canti (The Robot from FLCL)  
Mai- Cyber Harpy Lady (at Joey's instance)  
Tea- Angel (of mercy and friendship xD)  
Duke- Demon (black bat wings, leather outfit)


	2. 02 Trust

AN:

IsbelCortez: hey, you're the one that told me Yugi's a pervert and proceeded to prove it to me. As for Yugi dressed as the Dark Magician- that's old hat- no creativity- at least Joey is an idiot (albeit well meaning) and can be excused for his lack of creativity- plus it was a couples thing- he had a plan…

Midnightblue08: thx, reviews almost always encourage me to hurry up (so long as it's not blatant rushing), besides- I'll be fair, the Seto as Sephiroth idea I stole from a fanart I found- then it was just a matter of thinking what FF girl could Serenity pull off without too much hassle.

Shinki: (love the name actually, heh). Thanks for reviewing, as for if Mai dumps Joey, I dunno, probably not, but I cannot dictate to my muse, only from. Joey as Mai said, can be completely sweet when he's not trying to, and that is the sole reason Mai puts up with him.

Materialgirl69: (So many jokes spring to mind about that name), Honestly I'm more into Joey Mai than Yugi Mai, but it was an option expressed to me by a friend whose actually seen the end of the series (I haven't watched an episode in- well, a while- but the fic idea came and I had to act…) but at the moment I also kinda feel sorry for poor single yugi, I may have to do something for the poor guy- and all my current YGO OCs are male except for one- and I couldn't put Yugi with a girl with even more attitude than Mai- not without giving him back Atem somehow… although- nah, no need to bring yaoi into this…

End AN

"Not here, Joey might see," Yugi heard Serenity's voice after getting away from Tea and her insistence that the book he was reading for his costume was over the top. He started to move towards it when he heard the second voice after a long pause.

"I'm sure Joey doesn't expect me to be in costume here,"-

'_Seto!_' Yugi realized immediately. You don't get threatened by a guy that many times without recognizing his voice even in a crowded room. '_Wait- Seto and Serenity?_' Yugi's brain felt like being a little slow on the pickup at the moment, possibly from the terror of Tea's wrath. Yugi flinched when he thought privately what Joey might think of the situation. Yugi had to fight the best friend gear that told him immediately to run and tell Joey because it was followed immediately by the realization, it's not his business so long as Serenity's happy- and that's exactly why she hadn't told him either, because right there he was seconds from telling Joey, and if he hadn't stopped to think- motivated as much by fear of the idea of going near Tea before she calmed down- he would have, and he knew it. In fact he still felt he should in large parts of him. It almost felt like a disloyalty not to tell him…

"Let's go somewhere else…"

Serenity led Seto through the crowd; Yugi had to duck under the large wing as part of Seto's costume- which drew attention to him.

"Yugi?"

"Ah-…" '_Damn you brain kick into gear, there's no one to discuss this with anymore_,' "Serenity, hi, oh- Hi Seto- is that Sephiroth you're dressed as?"

Seto quickly hid the shock in his face and put a hand at the Nodatchi in his costume, "Yeah," he managed politely, "I find I can relate to his methods."

'_Was that a smile I just saw?_' Yugi didn't realize that had been a joke at first, only after Serenity saw the smile and laughed did Yugi join in, "Yeah I suppose. So," he dragged his word, "How long have you-"

"Just a couple months," Serenity assured, "You know how rash Joey can be though, I thought I wait before telling him."

"Yeah, we ran into Mokuba just after you ditched us, he was dressed up like Seto was in Battle City, and it brought back some bad memories in Joey."

Seto actually winced a little, relaxing as Serenity pulled up against him again reassuringly.

"So, is that why you've been nicer to Joey lately?"

"It's not the only reason, if that's what you think."

Yugi smirked at that one, "I'm willing to trust you; I think I've proved that time and again."

"So, are you going to tell my brother," Serenity asked, not quite suppressing all the nervousness she meant to.

Yugi looked down, "I want to, but I do understand your side too, it's not his business so long as you're happy."

"To be frank it's not his business regardless, but I can sympathize with his desires to protect a sibling," Seto added.

Yugi paused, stricken by the comment for a moment, then broke out in laughter. "Yes I suppose you and he have that in common don't you." Yugi stopped laughing after a moment and suddenly became a little serious, "How do you think you would react in Joey's situation."

Seto smiled at that question, "I've given that quite a lot of thought, that said, I'll just tell you this, I'm glad Joey doesn't have the resources I do at his disposal."

Yugi smiled and was just about to start laughing when he really thought about that for a moment and his smile vanished completely. Seto led Serenity off since it looked to them like Yugi had nothing else to say, but after a moment Yugi opened his mouth again, "Crap, he's serious isn't he, damn… I think Seto's right. I feel sorry for Mokuba?"

Yugi spotted Joey coming off the dance floor; he was spouting apologies like a scorned diplomat. Yugi moved towards them and began to hear their conversation as he came closer.

"I swear, I never seen her before, she just tried to cut in."

"No I know that," Mai rounded on Joey, but after a moment composed herself, "Look, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at her."

"Well who is she?"

"Just some low talent trying to look important by cutting in on _my_-… date."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," he commented dryly on her pause.

"Sorry."

Joey stepped closer, and took one of her hands, "Want to try again, if only just to show her up?"

Mai smirked, "Someday you may be half as smart as you think you are. Tell you what, you lead."

Yugi backed off as they headed back out on the dance floor. He tried to spot Tristan in the crowd. He saw Tristan standing like a wallflower, looking for someone else timid he could try to ask to dance when some girl approached him-

'Why if it isn't the King of Games, Yugi. Hi, I'm Eileen," she lifted up a hand, seeming to forget the paw shaped gloves she was wearing for her costume. She looked down and giggled in a shudder inducing inauthentic way. "Meow," she joked, "Care to dance?"

"What- I?"

Yugi barely had the option to pocket his book as she took his other hand and yanked him onto the dance floor. Eileen led Yugi across the dance floor, intentionally directing him towards Joey and Mai.

"Oh Yugi, you're such a great dancer," she lied, projecting her voice as she forcibly led him through each step. Yugi struggled to produce a smile on his face as she spun him then pulled him closer. Yugi caught a glimpse of his friends, noticing Joey wince as Mai seemed to fume.

Yugi looked back at Eileen who pretended to be oblivious and Yugi gave her a nervously twitching smile. "So, Eileen, what brings you to Kaiba's Halloween party?"

"Ooo, do you think Seto's here? Could you introduce me?"

"Ah- I don't think he'd-"

"So you _do_ know him personally- not just professionally."

"Not the way you seem to imply."

"Oh?"

Yugi surprised Eileen by stealing the lead, her masquerade-style mask slipped a little by the sudden change in pace. "Look, Seto acknowledges me as a skilled duelist, and nothing more, we've met repeatedly under various circumstances, and been forced to learn quite a lot about each other, I personally consider him a friend, though I doubt he thinks the same of me." He explained.

"Then why do you consider him a friend," she asked, sincerely curious this time, her airheaded act coming down a notch in the process. She took a hand to adjust her mask, then took Yugi's hand again, she continued to let him lead.

"Like I said, we've grown to know a lot about each other, and while he would say I know nothing, I happen to think I know him pretty well by now," Yugi stopped mid-thought, then smiled, "Rather well at least, enough to say if he needed to trust me with his secrets he could."

"What sort of secrets," she pried.

"I never said he _has_ trusted me- _intentionally," _he added under his breath so she couldn't hear, "only he could if he did."

"Oh of course, you couldn't tell me- then they wouldn't be secrets would they."

Yugi sighed; she clearly heard what she wanted to…


End file.
